Bath apparatus



NQ Model.)

y M. J. LYONS 8v L. BEEMBR.

BATH APPARATUS.

N-. Patented Aug. 4, 1896.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

MICHAEL JOHN LYONS AND LEVI BEEMER, OF DULUTII, MINNESOTA, ASSIGNORS TO MARTIN FMERICH, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

BATH APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 565,010, dated August 4, 1896.

Application filed September 9, 1895. Serial No. 561,991. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that we, MICHAEL JOHN LYoNs and LEVI BEEMER, citizens of the United States, residing at Duluth, in the county of St. Louis and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bath Apparatuses; and We do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and eX- act description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art t which it appertains to make and use the same.

Our invention relates to bath brush and sponge holding and water-distributing apparatuses used as adj uncts for bathing tubs or tanks; and it consists in certain novel means, as hereinafter described, whereby a bather can, while in the bath-tub, direct the sprayed water upon his body below the brush and through the brush or sponge, and also can, after opening an auxiliary cock, if such is used, by turning the spraying device out of its normal upright or approximately upright position, automatically open a main supply watercock, and thereby allon7 the water lto iiow through the apparatus, and then, by allowing the spraying device, under the inliuence of either a spring or weight, resume its normal upright position, automatically shut off the Water through the said main supply-cock, and thereby prevent flooding of the bath-room and the discharge of water upon the wall of said room, which would occur if this automatic cock was not provided and the bather should forget to close the first-mentioned cock; also, thebather can at will apply electric currents to his body during the bathing operation, and thereby excite the blood to rapid action, so as to cause that healthful glow of the skin during the bathing operation which is usually produced by friction incident to brisk rubbing with a towel.

The improvements that we have made and are claimed under this application are specially applicable to the bathing apparatus shown in Letters Patent No. 544,362, the allowed application of Michael J. Lyons, Serial No. 1,477, and our pending application, Serial No. 555,277, and therefore such features as are shown in said patent and said applications and are claimed therein are not intended to be claimed herein.

In the accompanying drawings, forming part of this speciication, Figure l is a front elevation and partial section of a brush and sponge holding and spraying apparatus similar to that shown in our aforesaid pending application, Serial No. 555,277, and having our present improvements applied to it. Fig. i.) is a detail section of our improved main automatic water-supply cock as it appears when opened. Fig. 3 is a similar section of the said cock, but as it appears after the sprayingyoke has assumed an upright position and the cock closed. Fig. et is a detail view of the stationary core or plug of the cock. Fig, 5 is a detail View of a seat-plate for holding the said plug or core in position on the swiveling non-swinging piece of the lIinge-and-swivel joint of the apparatus. Fig. G is a sectional view illustrating more plainly the arrangement of the automatic cock and showing a slightly-different manner of constructing and applying the saine. Fig. 7 is a detail View of the brush-clamp. Fig. S is a detail sectional view of vthe brush. Fig. 9 is a detail View showing a perforated branch sprayingarm on the yoke and arranged below the brush-clamp. Fig. l0 is a view similar to Fig. 9, but showing a cut-off cock applied to the yoke; and Fig. ll is a longitudinal section of a portion of Fig. l0, taken on a horizontal plane.

A in the drawings indicates the wall of a bath-room; B, a bracket comprising a fastening-plate b, a horizontal arm b, and vcrtical tubular cross portion C is a hollow lever, and E a spraying-yoke rigidly attached at c to said lever. The lever C is connected to a pivoted segmental piece d of a hinge or swivel D of the apparatus, said hinged piece being connected by a pivot-pin di to another segmental hinge-piece d, which is provided with a swivel-stem d2, adapted to be iitted in the vertical tubular portion b2 and kept from descending too far by a suitable shoulder, and is flared at its lower end to keep it from rising in said tube. rEhe hingepiece d is free to turn or swivel in the tubular part b2, but cannot rise or descend after being set in position. A spring d8 is coiled around the pivot d'7, and its ends are respectively constructed to bear upon the segmental IOO portions d d', so as to exert an increasing spring-tension upon the portion d as the lever C is pulled down 'from an upright to an approximately horizontal position.

The constructionand operation of the hingeand-swivel-joint connection of the apparatus constitutes no claimed part of our present invention, but its operation and office are the same as in our aforesaid pending application, Serial No. 555,277. On one end of the segmental portion d a seat-plate N7 is fastened so as to abut with its curved socketed end s against one end of the pivot d?. This plate is formed with a guideway s2, and into this guideway a flange s2 of a stationary plug or core N of a valve-casin g N2 is fitted. The valve-casing N2 and its core N are plainly illustrated in Figs. l, 2, 3, and G, and they are held together by a nut s6, screwed upon the outer end of the plug or core. The plug or core is formed with a water-passage N2, and is also provided with a drain-passage N6; and the Valve-casing has a water-passage N2* and a drain-passage N6, and at the bottom and top of the passage N2* are provided pipe ext-ensions N Ni, the extension N being curved or angular and connecting with the hollow lever C, andthe extension N* serving for receiving a supply-hose t2. It will be seen that when the water is let on through the hose, the lever in an upright position and the valve-casing in the position shown in Figs. l, 3, and 6, the water cannot pass through the valve; but should the lever b'e turned down from its upright to a horizontal or approximately horizontal position the valve-casing will be turned to the position shown in Fig. 2 and the water can flow through the valve into the hollow lever C and therefrom into the spraying-yoke E and thence upon the bather. As soon as the bather frees the yoke from his hold it assumes, by the action of the spring, itsnormal upright position, and thereupon the valvecasing assumes the position shown in Figs. l, 3, and 6 and the water is shut olf, and thus accidental iooding of the bath-room and injury to the walls thereof avoided.

In Fig. 6 we have shown the plug or core of the valve fastened to a screw-threaded end t2 of the pivot-pin C17, on which the lever and yoke swing up and down, the valve-casing being confined between washers .s2 s and secured by a nut applied on the screw-stem of the plug or core.

The spraying-yoke E 'and its handle E are similar in construction and operation to those shown and described in our aforesaid pending application, Serial No. 555,277, and therefore need not be more particularly described here.

We have shown a sponge-holder G applied to the brush and sponge clamp e, but of course the brush can be applied to the said clamp in the same manner whenever it is to be brought into use. To the spongeholder we have added a means for forming electrical connection .between the spongeholder and electric supply, these means consisting of a hard-rubber insulating-stud g, having an insulating washer-like iange g7 and inserted into a socket g6 of the spongecup, so as to insulate the bottom 0f the sponge-cup from the end of the yoke, said stud serving as the means for connectingthe holder to the yoke, a binding-post g2, applied to the sponge-holder and one conductingwire K of an electric circuit, and a bindingpost 75, attached to the bracket B and the other conducting-wire K' of the circuit. With this arrangement it will be seen that Vwhen the spraying apparatus is in use the wet sponge will act as the anode and the operating-handle E' as the cathode. By thus providing for giving the bather electric shocks great benefit is secured, as the blood can be excited, and thereby a similar effect to that of frictional surface rubbing produced. Vhen it is not desired to use the electrical iportion of our device, one ofthe conducting-wires is disconnected from its binding-post.

To render the sprinkling device more effective,we have provided a perforated branch arm E2 on the yoke and located it just below the brush or sponge holder, as illustrated in Fig. 9. This insures spraying of water upon the human body immediately where the brush or sponge is acting upon it. In order to introduce the water directly through the brush upon the body, we have provided -the back of the brush with apertures w, in-

which strikesfagainst the stop M3 on the clamping end of the yoke. By these means the registering of the aperture M in the stem of the brush with an aperture M4, which leads out of the hollow arm of the yoke into the aperture M of the stem of the brush, is insured, and thus water can pass through the yoke into the chamber formed by the plate M2 on the back of the brush and therefrom through the apertures in the brush to the bather. This construction and arrangement of the brush and yoke aiford facilities for introducing water upon the bather immediately opposite the bristles, and the bather can more eiectually apply the Water and rub his body at the points Where the water is flowing through the brush. A cock R, having a passage R through it, and a drain-passage R2 may be provided on the yoke E for cutting off the water from the brush.

O is a drip-cup, and ca hand-operated cock by which water may be shut off at will from the yoke, even when the yoke and lever are horizontal, or nearly so. The yoke and handle are placed in communioationwith each other by means of perforations at vl i," and a vconnecting-pipe I. The handle is connected bya pin e2 to the yoke and can be setso as On the back of the IXO IBO

to stand inclining inward or outward, same as in our aforesaid pending application, but this is no claimed part of our present invention.

It will be understood that the normal position of the yoke of the lever is upright, or nearly so, and that water flows through the automatic supply-cock only when the lever and handle are adj usted approximately to a horizontal position.

In using the spraying apparatus the bather occupies a position between the arms of the yoke and draws the yoke downward by the handle, so as to bring the brush or sponge against one or the other of his sides or against the back or front of his body, and then vibrates the lever up and down with the brush or sponge in contact with his body, the return upward movements of the lever and yoke being assisted by the spring of the hinge and swiveling connecting device.

Having now described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a bath apparatus, the combination with a hollow vibratinglever and aperforated spraying-yoke carried by said lever, an automatic supply and cut-off cock, substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. In a bath apparatus, the combination with a hollow lever and perforated yoke having an operating-handle and carried by said lever, of a sponge-holder clamp, a spongeholder provided with an insulatin g-stud, and an electric supply having connection with the said holder and handle of the yoke, substantially as and for the purpose described.

3. ln a bath apparatus, the combination of lenth of the brush; said arm being in cominuiication with the yoke near the brush or Sponge holder, substantially as and for the purpose described.

4:.` In a bath apparatus, the combination of a hollow lever, a hollow perforated yoke having a brush-clamp and a water-aperture at one end, a brush having aperforated hollow base and a hollow stem communicating with said hollow base and having an aperture adapted to register with the water-aperture in the yoke when the stem is secured in the clamp, substantially as described.

5. In abath apparatus, the combination of a brush having apertures through its back, and a chamber in rear of said perforations, and provided with a perforated hollow stem a hollow perforated yoke mounted upon a hollow lever through which water is supplied and having a clamping apertured end, stops on said brush and yoke to insure registering of the water-openings, the construction being such that the water can be shut off or admitted to said brush by turning the stem in the clamping end of the socket, substantially as described.

' ln testimony whereof we hereunto affix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

MICHAEL JOHN LYONS. LEVI BEEMER. 9Witnesses C. F. JACOBS, WM. STUEDEMANN. 

